GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The moment finally arrived late Friday night when the Detroit Lions called to break the news.
Jalen Tabor, one of the most intriguing players in this year's NFL Draft, learned he was Detroit's second-round pick and the 53rd player selected overall. The phone call capped a whirlwind nine months for Tabor, Florida's junior cornerback who opted to leave school a year early to chase his lifelong vision.
The dream started when he was 4 on the flag football fields around Bowie, Md., where he lived until high school. Something clicked in young Tabor's mind. Football became an obsession, one he has tackled vigorously ever since.
"He was a wide receiver and very competitive,'' said Merri Tabor, Jalen's mom. "I saw it then. He was
so competitive."
In the weeks leading up to the draft, Tabor flashed his competitiveness in a different way. Projected as a first-round pick most of his junior season, Tabor's stock began to drop when he ran a 4.62-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February.
The critics began to pick Tabor apart. Fans of other schools in the Southeastern Conference, especially those on Rocky Top, tossed verbal jabs at Tabor on social media. The mock drafts moved Tabor into the second and third rounds. Tabor didn't help himself at UF's Pro Day in March when his 40 times registered in the 4.7s.
Â
In typical Tabor fashion – he prefers Teez and even had the UF sports information department refer to him by that name in his final season – he fired back with a headline-worthy soundbite to those who drew a correlation between his slower-than-expected 40 times and his ability as one of college football's top cornerbacks.
"Just press play,'' he said, referring to his game film.
At his draft party on Friday, Merri designed T-shirts with that slogan across the front. Soon after Tabor got the call from Detroit, he was on a conference call with reporters.
One of the first questions Tabor was asked centered on why he repeatedly said over the past several months that he was the best player in the draft and whether he still felt that way.
"Yes,'' Tabor replied. "That statement just shows a lot about my confidence in myself and the type of confidence you have to have to play cornerback and football. That's just saying that I'm not going to back down from any challenge when I step on the field."
*****
Spend time with Tabor and you quickly realize there are two Tabors. Jalen is the football player and outspoken public figure, the guy who became popular with Florida fans and the media in his three years in Gainesville. Teez, which he has tattooed on his arm, is more subdued and reflective and wants to
make a difference back in the community around Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, D.C.
Teez is what you call Jalen when you really get to know him.
On Wednesday, the eve of the draft, Tabor returned to the charter school in one of D.C.'s most crime-ridden neighborhoods to speak to students about how there are more ways than football to get out and find success in life.
Merri enrolled Tabor at the school in 2010 and he blossomed into one of the country's top prep prospects under the tutelage of then-FCA head coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, now Maryland's defensive backs coach.
The school had fielded a football team for only a couple of years before Tabor arrived and it didn't even have a home stadium. The Knights practiced on a field dubbed "The Beach," a patch of dirt and grass with holes and rocks and discarded needles from junkies. The Beach, with two trailers on the lot as the team's locker room, served as a constant reminder of the daily struggle on the streets outside the classroom.
"It really made me who I am today,'' Tabor said. "It toughened me up. It got my work ethic up because tomorrow is not promised. People just say that, but you see that in my city. That's for real."
On a visit to New York in July for a series of media interviews, Jalen and Teez both made the trip. When it was time for another interview, Jalen showcased his personality with bold statements about the upcoming season and his talent.
Back in the car onto the next stop, Teez was often quiet and discussed topics far from the football field such as finance and history. It was a much different Tabor than fans and media are accustomed to.
"I like to give the media a little something, because I know they've got a job to do,'' he said. "I'm a little shy when I get around people I really don't know. There's two sides. If you know me, I'm more outgoing."
Frank Tabor, a D.C. cop for 20 years, is Jalen's father. He was a good high school football player but never played in college. He can be chatty like Jalen is with the media when in the mood.
Â
Jalen Tabor was a fan and media favorite at Florida. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Like Merri, Frank recalled how quickly Jalen took to football. If Jalen wasn't doing his chores or his grades dropped in school, all his parents had to do to motivate him was say they were not going to let him play football. It worked about every time.
"Jalen never crawled," Frank said. "One day he got up and started walking."
Jalen said his parents split up around the time he began playing youth football. The transition was difficult.
Despite the family division, Tabor continued on his path. The game was always there as his best friend.
"[The split] had an impact being so young. You grow up a little faster seeing that. I don't want to be a statistic,'' he said. "Normally, if you don't have two parents in the household, it doesn't turn out well as far as the kids are concerned. Football, you can say changed my life, but it really is my life. I don't know what I would be doing without it."
He grew up living primarily with Merri, where he gets much of the competitive gene that drives him.
Merri earned an academic scholarship to Howard University where she also played on the women's basketball team as a no-nonsense power forward. She passed on that attitude to Jalen.
"Every time I stepped onto the court, that's the way it was,'' Merri said. "Every game and every practice. I was that way with my grades, too. People couldn't really understand why I took is so seriously. 'It's just basketball, you know.' It was more than that to me."
While Merri saw Jalen's potential in football early, Frank came around later. The game that really opened his eyes was in Cincinnati in 2011, Jalen's sophomore season at FCA.
The Knights traveled to Ohio to play state power Taft High School, which featured receiver Dwayne Stanford, who went on to Oregon where he caught 97 passes and 12 touchdowns for the Ducks.
The FCA player everyone wanted to watch on the ESPNU telecast was nose tackle Eddie Goldman, a dominant force who signed with Florida State and is now in the NFL with the Bears. But Tabor stole the show in FCA's victory, earning MVP honors with two interceptions.
Frank Tabor realized that perhaps Jalen could fulfill that dream he developed as a young boy.
"He showed off,'' Frank said. "That was the first time I've ever seen him make a one-hand interception. I've never sugarcoated anything with Jalen. It's hard out there. I have an expectation of him to be the best he can be.
"I always say to him, 'What's next?' Just because you made it to college, you don't stop there. You've got to keep on pushing. Once you get into the NFL, don't be just satisfied to make it there. A lot of young men made it to the NFL, but they couldn't keep it up. Don't just be satisfied with getting to the NFL. Have a long career."
*****
Tabor joins the Lions coming off a strong junior season, one that was full of ups and downs, starting with that trip to New York, where he toured NFL headquarters and impressed his tour guide with his knowledge of the league's history. Walking down a hallway with historic team logos of the past, Tabor correctly pointed out nearly every one on his first try.
In an era when young players have plenty to distract them, Tabor is a football junkie and watched as much film as any player on UF's roster.
"I love the guy," Florida head coach
Jim McElwain said during the season. "He's a guy who cares. He's a guy who has really invested in himself. I think he's grown up immensely as far as how he's going about his business."
And Tabor is never boring.
In his final season, Tabor riled up Tennessee fans over the summer by saying the Gators expected to win their 12th in a row over the Vols. When the Gators lost, blowing a 21-3 lead, Tabor faced the most humiliating moment of his college career when he bit on a double move by Tennessee receiver Jauan Jennings.
He fell down on the play, leaving Jennings wide open down the sideline for quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who hit Jennings for a 67-yard go-ahead score.
That was just one of the moments that shined the spotlight on Tabor. Before the season started, Tabor and tight end
C'yontai Lewis were suspended for the first game of the season for a fight in preseason camp. When Tabor returned, he intercepted four passes in his first five games. The Gators won the SEC East with a road win at LSU and Tabor celebrated in front of 100,000 LSU fans with his teammates on the field. When the Gators took an early lead against Alabama, Tabor was photographed with tears in his eyes thanking the offense. The Gators lost and Tabor finished his career in the Outback Bowl.
He announced his departure in a heartfelt letter to Gator Nation via
The Players Tribune. And of course, he generated plenty of buzz leading up to the draft for his best-player-in-the-draft stance and his now-famous quote at Pro Day.
Â
Teammate
Quincy Wilson, selected seven picks ahead of Tabor in Friday's second round by Indianapolis, first met Tabor when they attended "The Opening," a prep showcase in Oregon hosted by Nike prior to their senior seasons of high school.
Wilson and Tabor worked out in the same group and got to know each other well enough that Tabor considers Wilson his best friend on the team. Wilson understands the attraction to Tabor's personality but said that shouldn't overshadow his ability.
"He's real smart and real instinctive," Wilson said. "He knows where the ball is going to be. He is ready to make a play, always."
Tabor views reaction to his public persona with a touch of nonchalance. He enjoys it but doesn't want it to define him.
"It's all really fun and games with me,'' he said. "It adds a little juice to the game. Everyone else seems to take it more seriously. Some are going to like it, some probably won't like it.
"I want to be a football player, but I don't want to be just a football player. You don't have to watch football to know who Deion Sanders is, or who Odell Beckham Jr. is. All that does is build your brand and you make more money in the long run. That is definitely my plan."
To make sure Jalen stayed the course at UF, Merri Tabor relocated to Gainesville and got a job at a local bank. She makes sure he stays grounded and away from bad influences that have cost players with equal talent their dreams. As Tabor made the rounds to visit teams and workout prior to the draft, a family friend named Ty served as a de facto security guard in recent months.
There are too many land mines not to take caution when your son is on the verge of playing in the NFL.Â
"It's a glass house,'' Merri said. "You really can't be a kid, and sometimes when he is a kid, it's looked at in a different way than if you're just another kid on the street. It can be tough, but I think he is well-prepared. We kind of let him know, 'this is what you're getting yourself into.' ''
As influences go, Tabor couldn't ask for a better one at his next stop than
Jarrad Davis, Detroit's first-round pick and Tabor's teammate with the Gators. Davis was the heart and soul of UF's defense and team leader.
Tabor will report to the Lions next and embark on proving those 40 times really didn't matter. Stay tuned. If Tabor performs like he did for the Gators, the Lions got one of the steals of the draft.
"You take away one play – I slipped and fell at Tennessee – it's hard to find a better corner in the country than me,'' Tabor said. "That one play is kind of hanging over me, but it kind of made me better."
Â
